The Reverend Canon Ian L. Bockus

The Reverend Canon Ian L. Bockus, 87, of Ocala, Florida, died on March 24, 2021 in Ocala after a lengthy battle with progressive vascular dementia.

The Burial Office and Eucharist will be celebrated on Monday, April 19, 2021 at 10:00 o’clock in the morning at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, Belleview, Florida with The Very Rev’d Lisa Wimmer officiating. For the benefit of family and friends in Canada, the service in Florida will be live streamed on Face Book and will also be uploaded to You Tube.

There will also be a Memorial Eucharist at The Cathedral Church of St. Luke, Portland, Maine on Saturday, July 31, 2021 at 11:00 o’clock in the morning with the Rt. Rev’d Thomas Brown, Bishop of Maine officiating. Due to Covid-19 distancing, burial will be for family only on Monday, August 2, 2021 at 2:00 pm in the Central Maine Veterans Cemetery in Augusta, Maine.

Ian was born in Sweetsburg, Quebec, Canada to Elton Bockus and Carrie Marion Margaret (Crandall) Bockus on April 13, 1933. With the advent marriage equality, he married his life partner of forty-nine years, Brian MacFarland on September 3, 2011 in Portsmouth, NH.

A graduate of Bishops University School of Theology, Canon Bockus was ordained to the priesthood on August 15, 1957 by The Most Rev’d Philip B. Carrington, Archbishop of Quebec and Metropolitan of the Province of Canada in the Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity in Quebec City. He spent most of his sixty-three years of ordained ministry in the Episcopal Church, serving many parishes Quebec, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey and South Dakota over the years. He returned to Maine in 1984 where he completed his active ministry in 1998.

In addition to his parents, Ian is preceded in death by his sister Beverley Elizabeth (Bockus) Peak, niece Kelly Dawn (Aiken) Morse and brother-in-law Arthur W. Aiken.

Ian is survived by his spouse, Brian MacFarland, children and their spouses, Christopher M. Bockus (Karen) and Kevin A. Bockus, grandchildren, Corey (Lauren), Ian, Kelsey (John) and Sarah, brother, Elton Crandall Bockus (Mary), sister Linda Jill (Bockus) Aiken, as well as many nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to your favorite charity. He was especially fond of the Humane Society and the Sisterhood of St. John the Divine, 233 Cummer Ave., Toronto, ON M2M 2E8. Condolences may be forwarded to Brian MacFarland, 9200 SW 92nd Place Rd, Ocala, FL 34481-8063.